FMS plans to limit inflow of migrants from CIS countries to Russia

May 23, 11:12UTC+3According to the Federal Migration Service’s data, one of every five crimes in Moscow is committed by non-residents

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According to the Federal Migration Service’s data, one of every five crimes in Moscow is committed by non-residents. It became known at the FMS board meeting on Wednesday that Russia intends to tighten up the immigration laws. A proposal was presented to oblige CIS citizens to receive an invitation to arrive in the Russian Federation. Experts believe it will not complicate life of illegal migrants.

According to FMS chief Konstantin Romodanovsky, guests from Tajikistan, Moldova and Uzbekistan are most often among those in reports about crimes committed by immigrants, the Moskovsky Komsomolets notes. The number of crimes committed by them in the capital has risen catastrophically -- by 42 percent. They committed about 2,400 crimes in three months last year and about 3,500 during the same period of this year. The number of serious crimes increased by 72 percent. They have begun to commit more crimes as members of organized groups -- 5.5 times more often.

"We have created all the prerequisites for legal presence of people -- work permits, licenses. But if people remain in shadow and do not want to live under our rules, perhaps, there must be other approaches, but not amnesty. We close entry for offenders, and rather intensively," the Rossiiskaya Gazeta quotes Romodanovsky as saying. As speaker said at the FMS meeting on Wednesday, entry to Russia is closed for 53,000 migrants since the beginning of this year. A draft law is in the State Duma, calling to extend the period to ban entry for offenders -- five years for one offence and ten years for repeated violations.

Head of the "Migration and Law" information and legal centre Gavkhar Dzhurayev believes invitations will not help the authorities to solve the problem of illegals, but just increase the number of intermediaries who make money on migrants, the Kommersant notes. There are already corruption circles around them at present - -beginning from persons at railway stations who sell permits and ending with officials and leaders of diasporas who create shadow business on this. If invitations are introduces, all will invite, but for money -- from suddenly appearing relatives and to firms inviting to have a walk around Moscow, Dzhurayev said. Meanwhile, tightening of entry regulations for migrants may also serve for other purpose - the European Union has repeatedly demanded that Russia must close the borders with CIS countries before beginning talks about visa-free travel to Europe for Russian citizens.